“What is it?” Hermes ran to Blue.
But Blue looked at me.
“What do you see?” I asked.
“It could be a coincidence,” Blue said.
“Knowing the trickster, it's not.” I strode over to him. “He left us this shell for a reason. So what is it, Blue?”
“This shell is very similar to the one Quetzalcoatl wears.” He glanced at Eztli, his expression tender and a bit remorseful.
With good reason. Eztli had a history with Quetzalcoatl. Bad history. Something about him chasing her out of her village because she had become a vampire. And she had become a vampire because Blue made her one. The first vampire.
But that woman was made of sterner stuff. Eztli didn't wince at the mention of her tormentor. Instead, she leaned in and looked at the shell.
“Yes, this is very similar. But Quetzalcoatl's breastplate is much larger and flatter. In addition to the giant conch shell being sliced in half, it also has a slice taken from its back so that it sits flatly on his chest.”
“Interesting,” Odin said. “May I see the shell again?”
Blue passed Odin the shell.
Odin turned the shell over and brought it up to his eyes. He made an impressed chuckle, then took the domed back of the shell between his fingers and twisted it. The dome slid to the side, revealing another hidden clue—this one a written message.
Odin unwound the paper tube that had been hidden in the back of the shell and read, “The coyote puffed and puffed, but he couldn't blow the beaver's house down.”
“Coyote?” I asked.
“Beaver?” Re added.
“Re,” I chided. “Please, don't get nasty.”
“I wasn't,” he said in an offended tone.
“I will,” Pan said. “The guy is talking about blowing a beaver. And isn't a house usually the shape of a box? So . . .”
“Pan!” Hermes shouted. “This is not the time for your filth!”
“Sorry.” Pan's shoulders slumped.
“But what if he's right?” Viper asked.
“What iswrongwith you people?” one of Hermes's kids muttered.
“No, seriously. You never know with this guy. And he did kind of have a thing for Vervain. Plus, there's the Hawaiian connection.”
Everyone looked at me.
I cleared my throat. “Uh. I don't think it was like that. It was more of a friendly admiration.” I frowned. “At least what I remember of it.”
“What does that mean?” Angelia asked.
“One of the times we met, he told me some stuff, then made me forget it.”
“So, he has the magic of Forgetting?”
I looked at Odin, my eyes going wide.
“How could we forget that?” Odin asked.
